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Everything was going so well. And then things turned sour on a dime. The party pooper virus is up to its old tricks again.

This week’s Update is being published on Wednesday due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. The December edition of the Cabot Turnaround Letter will be published next Wednesday, December 1.

This week’s Friday Update is brief, with no earnings or ratings changes. Despite the uncertainty in the broad stock market, there wasn’t much news on our recommended companies.

After falling over 30% in record time, the market has had a nice rebound. In less than a week the market jumped 15% from the lows. It has since stabilized somewhat with less volatility. While the worst may be over, I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet.

After falling 34% in record time, the S&P 500 has recouped more than half of the losses. As of this writing, the market is down just 15% from the February highs. The S&P 500 is now back to the same level it was at this past October. Clearly the market is optimistic about the speed and strength of the economic restart. And the market usually gets it right.

In short, it looks like there will be a tug-o’-war with good news and bad news at least up until the election. I expect the market will continue to bounce around in that time frame. However, there could be great things for the market beyond the election and the pandemic. The forecast is choppiness now, and a bull run later.

There is good news out there. The country is starting to reopen the economy. Sure, there is a political debate, and certain hot spots aren’t ready to reopen yet. But the urgent push to restart this economy is undeniable.

The anticipated market tumult has arrived. The S&P 500 is down over 5% in less than a week. It’s also down over 8% from the high. The high market combined with the mounting risks is finally spooking investors.

The final tally is in, and it was a November for the ages. The Dow Jones Industrial average was up 11.8% for November, making it the best month for the index since 1987. The S&P 500 climbed 10% while the Nasdaq gained another 11% for the month. History clearly shows that November was a spectacular month. What happened?

The raging bull market took a breather. The S&P 500 actually pulled back 7% from the high at the peak of the recent Labor Day selloff. But that seems to be over. The market has since regained some traction and appears to be resuming an uptrend.

Fear of the spread of a new virus has devolved into an economic disaster, at least in the short term.

For the third straight week the market has rallied on the news of another coronavirus vaccine with positive late stage trial results.

This year continues to amaze. The market had another big rally this week on news of very positive late-stage trial results for a coronavirus vaccine from pharmaceutical company Moderna (MRNA). The S&P 500 soared to a new all-time high, the first since early September.

So far, earnings season hasn’t had that much of an impact on the overall market. I don’t think investors know quite what to make of this quarter. It’s bad. But everyone knows that going in.

The market is off to a good start this year and anticipating wonderful things for 2021.

After a brief decline in early June, the market has resumed the uptrend that began on March 24th. It has been a spectacular 55% rally in less than five months.

The horrible second quarter is behind us and a rapidly recovering economy with a very accommodative Fed lies ahead. There are a lot of reasons for the rally and unless investors get scared straight the rally seems destined to continue.

The S&P 500 is now up over 40% from the bottom in March and less than 10% from the all time high. Forget about a bear market. It’s not even a correction any more.

The market is also having a stronger reaction to good news than to bad news. The indexes soared yesterday on news of potential Fed asset purchases, like quantitative easing, to support the economy and the market. Today the market is loving news of positive trial results for a coronavirus vaccine.